Slightly morbid, but have there been many examples of drivers who were murdered away from the track?

Here is an account I have just come across:

MURDER BY CAR ALLEGED

LONDON, Wednesday.

Three men are in custody in Manchester, accused of murdering William Jackson, 37, stock car racing driver, by deliberately running him down by car. A policeman told the court yesterday it was alleged that a car was driven straight at Jackson as he stood on the pavement outside his home on Saturday night, and he was knocked down and killed.

Since it is UK short oval racing that started this thread, it prompts recall of a "mainstream" motorsport magazine once describing UK short oval racing as: "Populated by steely-eyed Essex men with tatoos, beer guts, pockets full of used 50s and a shooter in the boot".

Maybe the word "murder" is not always technically correct, but Elmer George and Henry Pens also fall into this category.

It certainly would seem to apply to the latter case. And, the former depends on how one looks at the situation (though I believe the "ruling" was justifiable homicide, which would still equate to a form of "murder").

In the list in Post No. 34, the inclusion of Cheryl Glass (July 15, 1997) is incorrect. Officially, she jumped off a bridge and into a river, although I believe some friends/family members question that.

Actually, I was just wondering about Hoddo the other week... whether that might have been a possibility...

But he did have a lot of financial woes. His incessant philandering meant that he had to sign over pretty much all of his business interests to his wife, I doubt that he had anything left at all.

The sad thing about it all was that a finance company,supposedly,was prepared to give Ron another go by backing him ,but had not yet informed Ron of it's decision. The announcement was to be the following day. That was the 'word' at the time by those who would have known.

Originally posted by wagons46The sad thing about it all was that a finance company,supposedly,was prepared to give Ron another go by backing him ,but had not yet informed Ron of it's decision. The announcement was to be the following day. That was the 'word' at the time by those who would have known.

A very sad situation.

Ron was a gregarious man with a passion for enjoying himself...

I'm sure a part of his enjoyment came from being in the position in which he appeared to be. In command of a huge empire of car dealerships, at the helm of a racing team (earlier on) which won at Bathurst and Amaroo Park, even took out the Australian Touring Car Championship.

But, as mentioned, underneath it all he was not so well off. His wife had him sign over title to properties or businesses whenever she caught him philandering - or at least, that's the 'common knowledge' of those close to him.

So would a finance company really have been able to turn his situation around?

So would a finance company really have been able to turn his situation around?

Without a finance company's backing Ron was unable to start up again. He had the ability to quickly generate sales and profits from a new start and he knew that, but no company had stated their willingness to back him. This would have been a major catalyst in his depression.

Many people said afterwards that if only they had known the depth of situation they could have done this or that.........but all too late.

I'm sure a part of his enjoyment came from being in the position in which he appeared to be. In command of a huge empire of car dealerships, at the helm of a racing team (earlier on) which won at Bathurst and Amaroo Park, even took out the Australian Touring Car Championship.

But, as mentioned, underneath it all he was not so well off. His wife had him sign over title to properties or businesses whenever she caught him philandering - or at least, that's the 'common knowledge' of those close to him.

So would a finance company really have been able to turn his situation around?

Hoddo saw his problems as two-fold - firstly JRA had just advised all their dealers that they were rationalising the network and that Jaguar dealers were to be culled from 17 down to 5, but that the remaining 5 had to commit to a multi-million$ upgrade of facilities, or else. Then, to compound the issue, our Treasurer Paul Keating, announced the luxury tax on cars above a price threshold, and Hoddo saw that as the inevitable final nail in the financial future of his business. He was a larger than life character who ran every inch of the way, and hang the consequences, and I suspect that he may have been a bit bi-polar, with huge highs and lows.His business was huge and complex, but also ran very close to the wind, relying to a large, and many thought precarious extent, on cash-flow, so that the above two issues were clearly going to have a severe impact.He was vibrant character who was tough, straight, and good to work for and with, believing that you should have fun in everything that you do, but also to do it to the best level.Was there ever any dark side to his demise? As one who who did business with him, sat on committees with him, and drove for him - I certainly don't believe so.

From what I remember about the Hoddo story it was the way Seldo described it. I recall someone saying at the time that Hoddo was murdered by Paul Keating, meaning that it was the luxury car tax (and fringe benefits tax) that pushed him over the edge.